My debut picture book in the U.S, THE YELLOW SUITCASE, that steps out into the world on March 12, 2019, is getting an official launch party as it begins its journey to reach homes, schools, libraries, and little hands and hearts everywhere.

Bring your kids, or just yourself, for a read aloud, and stick around for book signing, crafts and surprise treats. I’d love to see you there!

A neat compilation of the lives and achievements of 52 heroes of color across borders and over many decades. Two things I really liked about the book:

1) the breadth of talents – we read about athletes, entertainers, astronauts, activists, leaders, and writers, and we also have a millionaire, an arctic explorer, a chess player, and a nurse 2) the countries we get to travel – from the U.S and UK to Jamaica, South Africa, France, Ghana, short bios introduce us to inspiring black achievers all over the world. The illustrations are bold and colorful. My favorite spread however is the “Hall of Fame” that showcases real photographs. A final note – this book is wonderful but also important, almost necessary, because young dreamers of color need role models too. As the author puts it, “if you can’t see it, you can’t be it.” #0andUp#RepresenationMatters#WeNeedDiverseBooks

Title: A Black Hole is Not a HoleAuthor: Carolyn Cinami DeCristofanoIllustrator: Michael CarrollWe picked up this book on black holes around the time we lost one of Science’s brightest stars, Stephen Hawking. My 9 yr old and I have been thoroughly enjoying the fundamentals of something so absolutely intriguing, humbling, and fascinating! I highly recommend it to any adult or child that wants to get a first grip on the concept of black holes. #PictureThis#0andUp

On this exact same day (Jan 27th) in 1967, Apollo 1 swallowed up three NASA astronauts. NASA came out with a plaque: A rough road leads to the stars, to learn from the tragedy and to stay inspired. The quote, however, aptly captures the spirit in the lives of the women this book explores.

In a time of social and cultural oppression in America, in a time when few women pursued higher education or worked in STEM, in a time when racism was rampant, in a time when the nation raced to reach the moon, brilliant black women persevered and succeeded, but were never celebrated. This sums up why we need this book – why it is important for us, and children in particular, to read the book.

The chapters in this book offer detailed accounts of the invaluable contribution of six women in particular – Katherine Johnson, Miriam Mann, Mary Jackson, Dorothy Vaughan, Annie Easley, and Christine Darden. They were “computers,” engineers, programmers, and excellent mathematicians. But they were also strong women that fought gender and color discrimination every single day at work, in spite of NASA’s scientific quest heavily relying on their technical expertise. As we read through their work spanning more than two decades collectively, from the 50s to the 70s, we get great insight into both America’s Space Race (with the Soviet Union) and into the era of segregation.

Rissman’s writing is lucid, making it a great read for children. The language is powerful and motivational in many instances. The book also does a good job of covering historical space-related events and provides the big picture where the work of these ‘hidden’ women made a difference. It also presents several anecdotes to show kids how racial bias affected their careers. The most wonderful feature is the inclusion of real photographs – they are fascinating, and help kids connect with the story. The epilogue is an overview of the work of women in recent times that continue to break gender barriers in Space Engineering. The book ends with relevant back matter.

My 9 -year-old son made some artwork right after we finished the book, and dedicated it to his grand-uncle, a mathematician, who contributed to India’s Space Research Organization for decades.

Similar in essence to the popular movie, “Hidden Figures,” and highly relevant in the current social and pollical climate, this book is a timely and empowering read for children. We need many such books to fill up our bookshelves in homes, schools, and libraries.

Note: This book was sent to me by Capstone Press towards MCBD, in an effort to promote multicultural literacy. But the decision to review it was mine.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2017 (1/27/18) is in its 5th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in home and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

Current Sponsors: MCBD 2018 is honored to have some amazing Sponsors on board.

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Scholastic Book Clubs: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual Twitter Party will be held 1/27/18 at 9:00pm.